The Running Clock
by OrangeandSpiceTeaLover
Summary: Her name was Eleanor Bonnet. She always ran and hid away. As time went on, she did get happier. However, for her it was only cold. It was always so cold. (Set in FMA: Brotherhood). OC insert. Romance with a definite pairing.


**Disclaimer****: I don't own FMA.**

**Summary****: Eleanor Bonnet was the daughter of a clock maker and nothing more. She was quiet and kept to herself. So what was it about her that drew people in? Her strong mentality? No. It was definitely her unwavering determination. (Set in brotherhood). **

**Author's note****: In most cases stories like this one with an OC added to the storyline it turns out to be a Mary Sue story. I have found a select few stories with brilliant writers where that isn't the case. I'm not going to go on about how you should read my story because it's amazing. Because it's not. I finished watching the FMA: Brotherhood anime a couple months ago and I loved it. The anime had a great storyline and I sort of let my imagination wonder. The next thing I knew I was writing a story about my character, Eleanor. I'm not a professional writer or anything like that. I'm a definite amateur. Also, my grammar could be better. However, I just wanted to write this story and see what happened. I'm not writing a self-insert or OC (that I wish I was) because in this story Eleanor has so many flaws. She makes so many mistakes because she's not perfect. She's not a Mary Sue. I truly just wanted to write a story that I would enjoy writing. My grammar is pretty bad. However, please try to read my story. **

********I'm American, so when I write words like 'colour' I write them as 'color.' Also, for a word like 'flavour,' I write it as 'flavor.' **

*********I know the currency in FMA is Cenz. One cenz is equal to one yen. However, I'm too lazy to convert dollars into yen. So in this story one cenz equals one dollar. **

_**Prologue**_

She fell to the solid, concrete ground. Her head had been whacked very hard. She was lying in a pool of crismon blood. Her eyes widened with realization. That was her blood. She let the weak tears escape from her eyes. She looked at her loved ones, who were staring at her with worry. She tried to put on a brave face. However, she just couldn't. She continued crying. She knew she was going to die. This was her own fault. But, she still wished she had never met them.

_**The Running Clock**_

_**Chapter One: I didn't want to be pathetic. **_

Cuckoo clocks had always fascinated her. She didn't know what it was about them that drew her to them. The way a little show would appear every time the clock stroke at twelve or the mechanics of the clock. Perhaps it was the way each clock turned out unique? The girl was easily amused.

She would watch everyday as her father worked on the clocks. First, he would go to the backyard and chop down a tree with a heavy axe. Second, he would take his craftsman knife and and start intricately carving into the wood. The next thing she knew there was a beautiful wooden clock frame, and each one was different from the next. Third, her father would visit a blacksmith to buy the materials necessary for the clock to work. Fourth, he would take out his tool box and play with the gears and make a metal plate for the numbers of the clock. Lastly, he would put figurines inside the clock, so they could pop out of the clock at every stroke of twelve. Usually, her father would ask her older sister, Elizabeth, to make the glass figurines.

Elizabeth was a beautiful young woman with short, strawberry blonde hair and blue, grayish eyes. The older sister was an artist. She was someone the little girl, Eleanor, looked up to greatly.

The family known as the Bonnets lived in Youswell, Amestris. Youswell was located in the Eastern Amestrian frontier. The town was a coal mining town that was being exploited by a wimpy man named Lieutenant Yoki. Because of him the whole town was suffering and started to resent the military. The pathetic man, Yoki, was stealing the townspeople's money. He would frequently raise the taxes and lower the townspeople's wages. In the beginning, the Bonnet family had not been effected by this because the clocks they sold were very expensive. However, the family went into debt as time continued.

* * *

Eleanor Francie Bonnet was born in 1901. She grew up with a father, an older sister, and no mother. Her mother had died giving birth to her. The young girl had long mahogony colored hair and bight blue eyes. As time went on, the girl grew into an independent, strong, and ill-tempered person. Most of the time, she was just awkwardly quiet. But to put it bluntly, she took shit from no one. Though, she did take shit from her family.

So when the day came when the military arrived at her home, she wasn't the least bit scared. It was 5'o clock in the morning when they arrived. The eight-year-old girl was the first to hear them because everyone else was asleep. She heard continuous knocking and decided to just get out of bed and answer the door. She jumped out of her bed to put on a light-blue, old button down top, worn-out jeans, and some brown boots. She quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail. She jogged down the stairs and opened the front door.

"Can I help you men?" She asked as she stared at the military men in dark blue uniforms. She wasn't intimidated at all. Maybe she should have been.

"Yes. Little girl, is this the home of the clock maker, Mr. Bonnet?" One of the military officers asked her.

"First off, I'm not a little girl. Second, what if it is?" She replied.

"Will you please let us in? We need to talk to him." The officer replied while literally looking down at her.

"Sorry. My father says not to talk to strangers. Bye!" Eleanor said while slamming the door in the high-ranked officer's face.

The small girl ran up stairs and walked into her father's bedroom. She nudged him.

"Dad! Wake up! The military is here!"

Her father immediately woke up as soon as he heard the word 'military.' He quickly got dressed and ran down stairs with Eleanor following him. He reopened the front door.

"Hello. I'm Mr. Bonnet the clock maker. What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Bonnet, are you aware that you have not paid the last seven month's taxes?"

"Really? That much? I had no idea."

"Well, it's true. Mr. Bonnet you are under arrest for not paying the required taxes."

"What? Are you serious? What about my daughters?"

"Do you not have a daughter, who is eighteen?"

Elizabeth appeared behind her father.

"He does, but you're still not taking him away." She replied placing a protective hand in front of her father.

"We are sorry, but we have to Miss Bonnet."

"Over my dead body!"

The blonde stepped in front of her father and tried to slam the door closed. However, one of the soldiers grabbed her by the arms and restrained her. She started to try and kick her way out, but failed to do so. Eleanor just stood behind her father at the front door. Now, she was scared. They couldn't take her father away! But, they did.

She stood frozen in the doorway as he was taken away to prison. She heard the cries of her older sister and fell to the floor. That day, the military took her father away and she would never see him again. On that day, her whole life changed.

* * *

About an hour after her father left, her sister stopped crying. Eleanor hadn't cried at all. She tried to comfort her older sister.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. He''ll come back." She said trying comfort her older sister.

"NO! IT IS NOT GOING TO BE OKAY! AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! You are the reason mom's gone and now dad too! You're the devil's spawn! If you just kept sleeping and didn't open that door maybe the military would have assumed that we weren't home. But, no. You just had to answer that door. YOU BITCH! I don't care if you're my sister or not. You are no longer welcomed here.!" Elizabeth yelled at her younger sister then ran upstairs.

She marched into her younger sister's room and pulled out a big bag. She quickly started placing Eleanor's clothes, toiletries, and belongings into the bag. When she finished, she zipped up the bag and threw it at her younger sister.

"There! That's all you stuff. Now you're packed. Get out!"

"What?" The eight-year-old asked in astonishment.

"GET OUT!"

"Bu-"

SLAP.

"LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK!"

Eleanor's long bangs fell over her eyes as she looked down at the floor.

"Fine. If that's what you want." She replied and quickly left the house.

After all of that had happened, Eleanor tried to stay calm. She refused to let salty tears flow from her eyes. She didn't want to pity herself. She knew that she was better than being pathetic.

* * *

The child wandered the streets of Youswell that night. She was cold and afraid. She didn't know how long it had been, but she was exhausted and tired. She stumbled upon a tavern/inn building. She stared at the building for a minute. All the lights were on in the building. Perhaps there was a party going on? No. She assumed that the people in there were just very lively. She walked onto the porch of the tavern and opened the door. She stumbled in and everyone turned to stared at her.

Well, it was quite a sight. A little eight-year-old girl, who looked exhausted and extremely worn out, was just walking into a tavern all by herself. The first reaction they had was obviously to stare at her. Then the girl fainted. Immediately, all the women in the room rushed to the little girl's side.

"What do you think happened to her?"

"She looks exhausted and she is covered in dirt."

"Whose daughter is she?"

"Isn't she that clock maker's daughter?"

"I thought he was just arrested."

The tavern owner's wife rushed through the crowd of ladies. She knelt down beside the child. She examined the girl. The girl had a big bruise on her right cheek. She was also dehydrated. The lady picked up the girl in her arms and carried her into a bedroom upstairs.

The women changed Eleanor's clothes and gave her water. They just waited until Eleanor woke up. Eventually, she did. The owner's wife looked at the girl and asked,

"Sweetie are you okay?"

"Yes."

"What happened to your cheek."

"I fell down."

Eleanor wanted to save herself from embarrassment. She was embarrassed because of what happened to her father and what her sister did to her. She wanted to keep her pride. So, she lied.

"What's your name?"

"Sarah."

"What's your last name?"

"Curtis."

"Where are you from?"

"An orphanage in Central City."

"What are you doing here?"

"I ran away from the abuse there."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh. Ms.-"

"It's Mrs. Mary Smith."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Smith. Thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

"But could you perhaps leave me alone for an hour to rest?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

The lady left and closed the door to the bedroom behind her. Eleanor was very thankful that the lady left. Also, Eleanor was happy that she (Eleanor) was a good liar. She rested her head against the soft pillow. She didn't want anyone to know who she really was. It just . . . it hurt her pride too much. Truthfully, she was ashamed of who she was. She never imagined that she would be in this position. She never thought her father would be arrested or that her sister would disown her. The little girl felt like crying, but part of her didn't want to. So, she didn't. Now, she had to come up with a good story. She had to lie really well. Before, she told the lady her name was 'Sarah Curtis.' Eleanor took a deep breath of relief. She pulled that name out of her ass.

For one thing, 'Sarah' was a pretty normal name among Amestrians. Also, the last name 'Curtis' was the last name of her father's best friend. Eleanor contemplated on what she was going to do. She didn't have any family anymore. Could she possibly go live with the Curtis family? Maybe. Why not give them a call? One of them was her father's best friend. Perhaps her father's best friend owed her father a favor? Who knew?

* * *

Two days after resting in bed, Eleanor decided to ask the lady if she had a telephone. She pulled her head off the soft pillow and rested on her elbows. She tried to get out of bed but she fell back down. She wasn't hurt or anything. She was just too comfortable in that warm bed. Basically, she was being lazy. She heard a light knock on the door

"Come in!" Eleanor said.

The door pushed open and Mrs. Smith walked into the room. She was carrying a tray of food. It had eggs, bacon, and orange juice on it. Eleanor's mouth watered. The food looked delicious. Putting that aside, Eleanor had something else on her mind. She looked back to Mrs. Smith and asked,

"Do you have a phone that I could use?"

"Yes, we do." Mrs. Smith replied while placing the tray on the bedside table.

Eleanor sighed in relief. Hopefully, her plan would work.

**Well that's all for now! Please let me know what you think of this story. Please either PM me or leave a review. You don't have to. Truthfully, I really want a lot of criticism so I can improve this story. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


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